Young Woman, ‘So Full of Light,’ Succumbs to Knife Attack

JERUSALEM—A 23-year-old woman who was described by friends as “a model of compassion who only wanted the world to be a better place” succumbed to knife wounds sustained yesterday in an attack by two male Arab terrorists.

Shlomit Krigman grew up in the Jordan Valley community of Shadmot Mahola. She was living with her grandparents at the time of the attack, which took place in Beit Horon, a communal village located alongside Highway 443, which connects Jerusalem and Modi’in.

Following high school, she served as a Bnei Akiva youth group coordinator during her national service and recently completed a bachelor’s degree in industrial design at the University of Ariel. Her senior project was a design for a portable public library.

“Shlomit was part of the landscape of Beit Horon—a smiling, quiet flower who brightened up her surroundings,” wrote one friend on a Facebook page set up in her memory. Her cousin, Daniel Krigman, who is the head of Bnei Akiva in Israel, described the family’s suffering: “Shlomit was a beautiful, sweet girl,” he said. “She was always smiling and energetic, so full of light. We are in great pain. Let us hope for better days.”

On Monday afternoon, Krigman and another woman, 58, were attacked outside a grocery store in Bet Horon. The second victim, whose name has not been released by authorities, is recuperating from her wounds at Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The terrorists were shot and killed by security forces at the scene. Following the attack, three homemade bombs were found near the store; a bomb squad was called to the scene to neutralize them.

The terrorists were identified as Ibrahim Alan, 22, from Beit Ur al-Tahta; and Hussein Abu Ghosh, 17, from the Qalandiya refugee camp. Police said they approached Bet Horon from a nearby wadi and jumped over the settlement’s fence.

Krigman is survived by her parents, Yitzchak and Naama, and six siblings. She was laid to rest today at the Har Hamenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem in what her family asked to be a private ceremony.